QuiltCon, the quilt show and convention presented by The Modern Quilt Guild last month was energetic and fun in so many ways. A real celebration of the art of quilting.

I always smile when I see the Fiesta Ornaments that Judy Coates Perez makes by painting on fabric, quilting the painted motifs, and then stitching on a frame of embossed craft metal.

One really has to marvel at the talent of our quilting foremothers. With basic geometric shapes and materials they had at hand, these (mostly) women made quilt block patterns. Then they made them their own, taking the traditional quilt blocks and putting their own spin on the design.

When I saw Lynn Krawczyk's Wishing Owl plushies in International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene magazine last fall, I knew I had to make some of my own. Encouraged by her suggestion to jazz them up in your own way, I gave mine patchwork bodies made from vintage feed sack fabrics.

I always love to hear how people began quilting. Did they make their first patchwork quilt at their grandmother's knee? Did they get bored and take a class that led to a passion? Did a friend drag them to a quilt show, and they were hooked?

I have made bed and lap quilts, holiday table runners, and other large-scale quilted gifts and décor. But more often I make small quilted gifts that come together quickly with the sewing machine and my abundance of fabric scraps.

The first time I laid eyes on Malka Dubrawsky's quilts a few years back, I sat up and took notice. Now, here was someone who was taking basic patchwork quilt blocks and giving them a fresh and contemporary spin using color and freehand cutting and piecing.